Naoto Shirogane Ace Detective, Wife and Mother?
by The last Phantomdreamer
Summary: The Murders in Inaba are all solved and the investigation team are settling down, set at least 4 years later. Naoto is still a great detective and is trying to adjust to family life along with her #1 house husband. (Sorry the update have taken a while I was a little writers blocked)
1. Chapter 1 - A womans intuition

Naoto sighed as she walked into her hotel room; she was exhausted and she wanted to be tucked up in her own bed cuddled up and warm, she threw herself onto the bed. She lay there on the bed her long blue hair pooled around her and her pale brown suit covering her obviously feminine frame. She would be back to her home in a day or two, and back to the caring man she shared the home with, when she agreed to marry him she expected to stay with him before the ceremony, but she had been dragged away on a case and she loved her job as much as she loved him.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket; she dug it out and saw that her phone had received a message, it was from Rise Kujikawa, and Naoto hesitated before she read it.

_From Risette _

_To Naoto Shirogane_

_Nao-Chan I hope you are home soon so we can get you ready for the wedding_

_Rise ^-^_

She giggled at the message, it was a minute later that the rest of her friends texted her.

_From Chie Hanamura_

_To Naoto Shirogane_

_Naoto, Come home soon we all miss you, and Kanji is driving us crazy. Yosuke mentioned going to Junes' to eat._

_Chie and Yosuke_

_From Yukiko Amagi_

_To Naoto Shirogane_

_Naoto-Chan, Rise told us all to send you a message to tell you to come back to Inaba soon, and Yu said hi._

_Yukiko and Yu Amagi._

Naoto smiled to herself, she had a nice group of friends, and they all were supportive of her and Kanji. Rise and Teddie practically cried when she announced her engagement Yosuke patted him on the back and said something about the "Detective Prince".

The next message she had received made her feel happier.

_From Kanji Tatsumi_

_To Naoto Shirogane_

_Hey Nao, hurry home I miss you._

_K_

As she read the message she couldn't help but imagine him blushing after having to admit he missed her, she remembered when he told her he loved her.

Three years ago

Kanji had made his mind up to finally tell Naoto how he really felt about her; he saw her sat at one of the tables in the Junes' food court, she had a takeaway cup in front of her. Her hat was on the table beside her as she looked at the cup, it was mid spring and it was a sunny day, she didn't really need to wear it but it was her signature look. Even her profile is cute, Kanji thought he held a bag in his hands, it was emblazoned with the Tatsumi Textiles logo, he had made her a stuffed doll, he had planned to have given it to her for Valentine's Day but he panicked and couldn't do it. The doll was a rabbit that looked like her, it had the jacket and her hat and he really hoped she liked it and him too.

As he approached her she heard his footsteps and looked at him, she looked concerned as he was blushing, and she stood up and reached for his forehead. Her small hand delicately touched his head and she felt no sign of fever in him, she smiled gently as she had deduced that he was fine.

"Tatsumi-San what's the matter?" She asked looking at him

Kanji held the bag out to her, and mumbled that it was for her, he stared at her as she pulled out the handmade stuffed toy. Her eyes lit up and she blushed when she realised that it was a doll that was made to look like her. Naoto looked right up at Kanji and smiled, he looked at her rather embarrassed.

"D'ya like it?" He asked looking away from her.

"I love it." She stopped before she said "Kanji-Kun."

As she said his first name he blushed more, he wished he had given it to her earlier. He took a deep breath as he looked at her she was looking at the little hat and smiled at how accurate it was, as a thought came to her mind she giggled. Her little laugh was rather feminine Kanji thought as he looked at her.

"I didn't just ask ya' here to just give you that." He managed to say

Naoto looked at him, she was certain that he was finally going to admit his feelings for her; she had known that he had feelings for her; she was a genius detective after all. But she was waiting for him to make the first move; the look in his eye had a sad look as if he had already assumed that she was going to say that she didn't like him.

"Kanji, actually I had to tell you something." Naoto said "I am glad you invited me to meet you today."

She looked at him he was still blushing and he was struggling for words, as his mouth was opening and closing like a fish.

"I was waiting until the case was closed to admit how I feel about you. You may act all tough, but you have such a great talent for making these things." She said gesturing her little rabbit look-a-like

Kanji looked at her and took her hands in his.

"Just shut up and listen Naoto, 'cause I'll only say this once." Kanji said looking at her with a determined smile "I have been in love with ya since the moment I met cha and I want to be your boyfriend."

What felt like an eternity passed for Kanji as he waited for her to react to his feelings; she simply smiled at him and wrapped him into a hug, she nuzzled against his chest and gently giggled to herself.

"I know Kanji-kun." She muttered "I wouldn't be a good detective if I didn't work out how you felt."

She looked up at him and frowned; she was a little sad about their height differences, she realised that she hadn't reciprocated and Kanji was looking at her very anxiously. Naoto was thinking about kissing him, but she was going to wait for the right time and hopefully when she could see eye to eye with him directly.

"Naoto, please just reject me so I can forget this ever happened." Kanji said as he looked at her with sad eyes.

"Sorry Kanji-Kun not gonna happen." She mumbled as she looked at the confused blonde "I was a little upset that I can't kiss you from here." She whispered that last part loud enough to only let Kanji hear that. He managed to hear her and he smiled gently.

Kanji waited for Naoto to say it was all a joke and that Rise was the one who said she should do that, but Naoto stayed there holding him in her arms, she had a gentle smile, he loved that smile it was cute just as she was, and she was showing it to him.

"Kanji-Kun." She said as she blushed, she was waiting for him to take her cue that she wanted him to kiss her "I very much would like you to be my boyfriend."

Two days later

Naoto woke up alone in the hotel room. She sighed to herself as she climbed out of the bed; she made her way carefully to the bathroom. The mirror showed her that her long dark blue hair was all over the place and that her suit was wrinkled up, she sighed again, she picked up the hotel promotional comb that lay on the sink and carefully pulled it through her long hair, she saw the elastic hair tie she had left on the sink. She had worn her hair in a ponytail on the trip up from Inaba, and figured now would be a good time to put it up.

Her phone rang; its ringtone was loud against the silent backdrop of the almost empty hotel room, Naoto dashed to answer it, she nearly slipped on the hardwood floor with the speed she used.

"Hello Shirogane speaking." She announced to the caller.

"Ah Shirogane-San, it's me Minamoto, during the early morning the culprit was apprehended, just as you thought he took the bait." Minamoto said. "We couldn't have done it without you."

"Finally, I am glad my instincts paid off" Naoto said "Do you need my help with the paperwork to close the case?", she smiled to herself she never would have thought she'd be excited to be done with a case before she met Yu-Sempai and the others, nor would she have met Kanji.

"We can finish the paper work here without you." he said "We also got a phone call from Detective Dojima, that you were needed back in Inaba immediately."


	2. Chapter 2 - Out of the comfort zone

Out of the comfort zone.

_From Naoto Shirogane_

_To Kanji Tatsumi_

_Kanji, _

_The case is finished so I shall be back to Inaba soon._

_Naoto_

Kanji Tatsumi stared at the dress fitted around the mannequin; he imagined the woman that was going to wear it, she was a beautiful and strong woman. He loved her so much, and he was afraid of messing up this dress, it was as much for him as it was her. He knew Naoto Shirogane wasn't one to wear women's clothes, she would choose to wear his t-shirts to bed than a fancy nighty, and if he was being honest with himself that was sexier on her than any feminine nighty ever would. The shirt was often baggier and the neck sloped over one of her pale shoulders and it stopped at her knees, it looked amazing on her and she was always oblivious to that. In the end he decided to scrap the dress for her and started on an specially tailored suit that he knew she would have liked, he sighed and hoped if they had a daughter that she could wear it, and that would give him an excuse to make as many stuffed dolls for her as he could. He smiled to himself remembering their first night together.

Two and a half years ago

Kanji was sat in the store of Tatsumi Textiles; he had stopped dying his hair and was sat sewing a new doll for the store as customers came in, he was friendly to them as he was finally able to admit to himself that he wanted to run the shop. Naoto said she loved watching him make things, and she read to him as he worked. Kanji's mother always interjected telling them to go out on a date rather than just sit there together, but it seemed to her like it's something they enjoyed doing together.

He almost poked himself with the sewing needle as his phone vibrated in his pocket; he set the work down on the table before he read the message.

_From Naoto Shirogane_

_To Kanji Tatsumi_

_Kanji,_

_I have something special planned for tonight, are you able to come to my home._

_Naoto _

He read and re read the message trying to figure out what she meant, he replied with a simple 'I'll be there'.

"There it's sent." Rise said as she held the detectives phone in her hand, she handed the phone back to Naoto.

"Rise-Chan, why did you do that?" Naoto asked as she looked at her friend.

Rise had dragged Naoto to Junes' to the lingerie department, the idol smiled at her friend, as she picked out all kinds of bras

"You were too scared to." Rise said "I know that you love Kanji, but does he?"

Naoto sighed her friend was right, she was having trouble saying the word 'love' to Kanji as she felt embarrassed, she had already heard him say that to her. Naoto had planned to show him that she loved him rather than trying to say the word, she had asked Rise for help, and she said that Naoto needed to wear a bra instead of binding her breasts down.

Naoto looked at the bags she was holding; Rise said she needed a few pairs of bras but, Naoto didn't think she meant this many. Rise had remembered the measurements from the hospital check-up Naoto insisted on, the idol was escorting her friend back to her home. To make sure that Naoto was going to use them and not bind her chest anymore.

"No more binding your chest." Rise said as she entered the detectives bedroom, the idol went rifling through Naoto's draws, until she came across a draw full of cloth strips, in a smooth movement she pulled them all out of the draw and held them in her arms, judging from Naoto's expression Rise had grabbed them all.

"Ok." The idol said as she dropped the fabric she was holding in her arms before she took the bags from Naoto, she turned them upside down before the underwear came cascading out in a pile in the draw, Rise spread them, out to fit in the draw so that she could close it. Naoto looked at her before she panicked that the draw wasn't in order, but Rise had already put the fallen fabric in the shopping bags.

"I'd put a bra on if you want to seduce Kanji." Rise said "Oh and I am going to have to take that chest wrap you are wearing."

Naoto had eventually given into her friend's argument and was stood in front of her full length mirror; she was covering her chest not to hide her femininity but to show it off. She had to admit that not hiding her breasts was comfortable and she liked the bra Rise had gotten her, not that she would ever tell Rise that at all. Naoto had picked up the shirt she was wearing and only just managed to close the buttons around her chest, she wasn't going to wear a skirt anytime soon but she thought wearing a bra more frequently was a good compromise. She walked over to her wardrobe as she looked through the clothes she had in there, she had noticed a t-shirt that was sat on the bottom of the wardrobe it was one of Kanji's she had borrowed it when they had to run to his home through the rain, he let her wear it back to her home, where she forgot she had it and it stayed in her wardrobe. She slipped her shirt and trousers off and threw it over her head, _Rise said that a nighty was sexy, but I haven't got one, this will have to do and I am already embarrassed as it is._ Naoto thought as she walked to the mirror, she felt like a kid wearing her parent's clothes, as the t-shirt was huge on her tiny frame.

"Naoto-Sama your guest is here. Shall I bring him to you?" A maid asked.

"Yes please do." Naoto replied the maid's footsteps faded away as Naoto looked at her reflection, she was nervous as she looked at her eyes and tried to re-assure herself.

"You can do it, remember that you love Kanji. He loves you just as you are Naoto; you want to be with him, and he is the sweetest guy you know." She said

Naoto heard a staged cough; from the direction of the door, she panicked as she tried to figure out who was stood there. She turned to see Kanji stood there; he had a smile and was furiously blushing.

"Naoto you love me?" He asked as he looked at his detective girlfriend, as she blushed and looked to the floor.

"I…I…I…umm…Yeah" Naoto said "I asked you here to show you that I love you."

At that sentence Kanji finally took in her; the t-shirt she wore was slopped over one shoulder revealing a navy blue bra strap, her thin legs poked out of a knee length t-shirt. He noticed that the t-shirt was held up around her chest, as she was allowing him to see her breasts, instead of having them nearly invisible.

"You mean you want to…?" he asked

"I want us to sleep together." She said "I was thinking about it for a long time."

Kanji looked at her; he was both nervous and happy, he still remembered that she said I love you and the compliments she gave him, he wanted to hold her in his arms and never let her go.

"Are you sure?" He asked "If you're not ready we can always wait, you don't have to push yourself."

Naoto walked over to him and pulled him to the bed with her, he had managed to shut the bedroom door before they made it to the bed. Kanji looked at her before she kissed him, pushing him against the bed; he put his hands on her hips as he kissed her back.

"Kanji Tatsumi I love you." She said

The Present

Naoto sighed as she stepped out of Inaba station, she walked down the stairs before she was grabbed by a pair of strong arms, she let herself be captured as she recognised the scent of the man who caught her, she was still exhausted and fell asleep against his arms. Kanji smiled to himself as he swept up the sleepy Naoto and carried her back to their home, he was glad she text him the time of her train as he was worried about her.

"I'm home Kanji." She mumbled in her sleep

"Welcome home Naoto." He said to his sleepy bride-to-be.


	3. Chapter 3 - A well-deserved break

The next day

The Junes' food court was as busy at had always been; Naoto and Kanji were sat at the table they always used for the meetings of the investigation team, they were sat discussing general plans for the wedding.

"It's going to be a simple ceremony right Kanji?" Naoto asked they had given up on using honorifics between them, when Naoto agreed to marry him over a year ago.

The dark brown haired Kanji scratched his head.

"Yeah very low key, though gramps said it was gonna take place at his place." Kanji said "He was insistin' I take your name, an' I am kinda considerin' it."

Naoto smiled at him with a small look in her eye; she had already joked that he was like a housewife already, and he had agreed with her, after she tried to cook for him when he was sick. It led to him banning her from the kitchen.

"Hmm... Kanji Shirogane, I don't know kinda sounds nice." She said with a smile "Or I could become Naoto Tatsumi."

Kanji looked at her and smiled.

"Nah that's not a good name for a detective, what with all the shit I did in the past an all." He said "An' besides I want us to share a name, it don't matter which one."

Naoto took his hand in hers and kissed his hand gently

"You really want to?" She asked looking at him

"Yeah I do, we don't have to follow any rules reguardin' what are marriage has to be like. All we need is us to love each other and to support each other right?"

The first ones to arrive were Yu and Yukiko; they were both dressed in kimonos and were walking hand in hand, a gentle smile on her face. They waved at their friends as they approached the table.

"Hello you two, you look happy what were you talking about?" Yu pried he was interested in catching up with the pair of them

"We were talkin' about changin' last names." Kanji said "Whether I should take Nao's or her takin' mine."

Yukiko smiled as she sat next to Naoto; as she looked at her friends.

"Naoto Tatsumi. Kanji Shirogane." She said with a small frown, trying to assess which she liked best.

When the rest of the group gathered Naoto posed the question to the group.

"Ok so what do you think about taking your partners name?" She asked

Chie looked at Yosuke, she had already decided to take his name without any discussion as she wanted too, but she never thought about it the other way around.

"It depends on the couple; I think you don't necessarily need to be a woman to take your partner's name." Yosuke said "Marriage is a partnership, right Chie."

His wife nodded at him and they held hands under the table.

"I took Yukiko's name as it was important to her, and to respect her and the inn." Yu said "It doesn't make you less than a man." He added that last bit for Kanji's sake as he could see him worry a little.

"Hey why did you want to know about that Nao-Chan?" Teddie asked looking at the blue haired detective

"Grandfather asked Kanji to take my name." She responded. "I mean I could take his as well but, I have no idea which is a good idea."

"Hmm, that difficult for us to give you an opinion on." Yu said as he looked at both of them.

The eight of them all laughed as they chatted about what was going on; they met up once a month and enjoyed doing so, it was nice to share stories and to chat to each other, even though they all live in the same town. Naoto and Chie worked together from time to time as they worked for the police force, Yukiko and Yu visited the textiles shop for kimonos and the souvenirs. Junes was the main place for grocery shopping, and they all ended up bumping into each other.

Naoto had never really considered Kanji talking her last name; and she had naturally assumed she would take his, she decided to go and ask her grandfather why he suggested that. It had been a little while since she had visited the house she mostly grew up in after her parents had died she went to live with her grandfather, he had shown her he loved her in the place of her parents, but it wasn't the same as having them live with her. She remembered that Kanji had asked him for permission to ask her to marry him, well he more of shouted it at her rather scared looking grandfather but he approved all the same. Naoto had reasoned that it was because he was rather nervous, as Kanji was incredibly sweet and was entirely devoted to her by that point.

One year ago

Kanji was stood outside the doors of the Shirogane mansion; he had been there a few times, but this time was different. He was going to ask Naoto's grandpa to allow him to marry her, his mother had told him that it was a good idea, mentioning that his father begged his mother's father to marry him. But actually doing it was terrifying, Mr. Shirogane was a tough detective Kanji had admittedly imagined him to be a terrifying man, but he steeled himself to push the fancy doorbell.

The redwood door opened as a maid opened the door; he had forgotten this place had maids and butlers, the Shirogane family was loaded, his family own the shop but it was nowhere near fancy enough to have a maid. The times he had been there with Naoto he couldn't feel like himself as he worried about what the maids were talking about, and specifically about him, after all he had made a few dolls for her and they had gathered up in her bedroom. When it came to Naoto, he really cared what she thought about him, and he respected that and hated it at the same time.

"Tatsumi-san?" A maid asked as she walked in to the drawing room where Kanji was waiting "Shirogane-sama is ready to see you."

The maid led him to the study; Kanji felt his nerves building with each step towards the room, he was afraid that Naoto's grandfather would refuse and laugh in his face, he had imagined that scenario in his head a dozen times already. He sighed as he remembered that was how he felt when he asked Naoto to go out with him, and well he was here two years later asking to ask her to become her wife.

"Oh Kanji-San, it's good to see you my boy." Grandpa Shirogane said with a welcoming smile, he was a short man- well next to Kanji anyway- his hair was slicked back and light silver. He had the same eye colour as Naoto, and they had the same intense look in them that Naoto had when she was on a case.

"It's good to see you too Shirogane-san." Kanji replied, trying not to speak like he normally did, and he wanted to let Gramps know that he was incredibly serious about Naoto. He was wearing a suit, and a tie, he hated it already.

"It's rare that you come here, and for me to talk to you alone." Shirogane said looking at the suited Kanji. "Come, sit."

At the older man's insistence he took the seat across from the desk and looked at Grandpa Shirogane.

"As you know, I have been seeing your granddaughter for two years." Kanji started

As he tried to compose his thoughts; Naoto slipped into the study and looked at her grandfather and her rather fancy dressed boyfriend, she looked as Kanji breathed deeply.

"What is it my boy?" Grandfather asked.

Kanji jumped up from the chair and slammed his large hands on the desk; it shocked both Naoto and he grandfather.

"My ma told me that I should respect Naoto's family, and to go and ask her father this but you are all that Naoto has." Kanji said "I want you to let me marry your granddaughter!" He ended up shouting the last sentence and both scared and impressed Shirogane.

Naoto smiled to herself across the room; Kanji had no idea she was there, her grandfather nodded.

"I am glad that you have told me your intentions to my granddaughter; I was worried that you would just use her for her body and abandon her, it seems my…"

Kanji looked irritated at what he said

"She is the most precious thing in the world to me!" He shouted "Why an amazing woman like her would want to be with me is…" Kanji stopped he didn't want to finish his sentence, but he saw and felt a pair of feminine arms wrap around him.

"Oh Kanji, I'd love to marry you." Naoto said


	4. Chapter 4 - Just the two of us

Naoto stood outside the home she shared with her grandfather; she still had her key, he had taken a liking to Kanji and asked them to come and visit at any time they wanted to. As she walked through the door a maid noticed her and went to her, she smiled at her.

"Naoto-Sama it's a pleasure to see you." The maid announced in a cheerful voice.

"Is grandfather in?" Naoto asked as she looked at the maid

"Ah yes Shirogane-Sama is in the study." The maid replied before she bowed and ran off to do her work, Naoto sighed as she headed to the study.

The house was still the same; the same staff, the same decorations, yet it seemed like a different place since she moved in with Kanji where he was felt like home. Naoto knocked on the door of the study, her grandfather's voice called her in, and he smiled at her as she had come into his line of sight.

"Naoto-Chan it's good to see you." He said looking at her fondly

Naoto walked over to him and looked at him; she composed herself breathing in deeply.

"Why did you ask Kanji to take our name?" She asked

"He asked me to take the Shirogane name." Grandfather said as he looked at Naoto "He came in saying that the Shirogane name was important and that he would be honoured to take it, even though he is the heir to Tatsumi textiles."

Naoto smiled to herself; she imagined what he would say when she confronted him about it, so she decided to let him have his secret. The more she thought about it she really didn't mind him taking her name.

Kanji sat looking at the offer he had received from Junes; they had offered to buy him out of the textiles shop, and to stock his knitted animal dolls across Japan. He was considering the offer as he knew that taking Naoto's family name meant he would be leaving the Tatsumi family, but he had talked it over with his mother and she was proud that his stuffed animals were selling well. It seemed like a deal he had to take, and the money he had made would be enough to set them up in a small home in Tatsumi Port Island, so that Naoto didn't have to go out to work a case and travel to and back each time, she had to work more cases in the big city than she did here in Inaba. He laughed at himself; he was quitting work after they married to become the housewife, and he was going to be the main caretaker of their kids, but he oddly wanted it he loved to cook, clean and Naoto. She had no idea that he was planning this, and she would freak out if she knew. He phoned up Yosuke and said that he was going to take the offer, but he needed the time to tell Naoto and to find them a home to live in.

When he had ended his call he was waiting for Naoto to come home; she had told him that she had to go and see Rise to discuss something, and he still had work to do on her wedding dress.

Naoto had arrived back home to see her fiancé asleep at the living room table; the official looking letter from Junes lay on it, she picked it up and read it over. She had sat down to read it; she nudged Kanji awake to ask him about it.

"Kanji, what is this?" she asked already knowing the answer but determined to get an answer from her fiancé, he looked up at her sleepily

"Naoto it's a deal for them to take the store over and sell my stuffed animals across the county, and I took it." He said

"I don't want you to give this place up because we are getting married." She said looking at him with a faint look of disappointment

"I'm not." He said "I hate the thought of you being in danger when you are doing your detective work; I wanna be there with ya to beat those bastards to a pulp."

His statement made Naoto laugh, but the real reason he kept to himself. _You really can't cook Naoto; I'd worry for our kids. _

Naoto walked around the table to where Kanji was sat; she smiled at him as she pulled her fiancée into a kiss, his hands ran under her hair and caressed her back.

"We are going to have kids right?" Kanji asked as he broke of the kiss.

"I think that we may." She replied looking at him. "Do you want to start?"


	5. Chapter 5 & 6 - The Wedding

All the formalities

Kanji had taken the filled in marriage licence to the government office the day before they were going to have the official wedding celebration, Naoto really didn't understand why they needed to have a ceremony when all they really needed was the licence and the changes noted in the family register.

Rise had insisted on taking Naoto to a bridal shower party; which she had planned as self-appointed Maid-of-honour, so they were all sat in Yukiko's private room were Naoto sat wearing a huge badge reading "Bride-to-be" and really hating it.

"I got you this." Rise said as she handed Naoto a brightly wrapped present with a huge bow.

Naoto took it before she opened it up; she was already worried about what Rise considered a suitable present, she was the queen of inappropriate presents. Suspiciously Naoto looked at the item sat in the now opened box, sat inside was an empty photo frame. It was made of glass and had a silver coloured metal that formed a heart around the centre of where the photo went.

"It's to put your wedding photo." Rise said giving a huge smile

"Thank you Rise-San it's nice." Naoto said, before she put the box safely across the room, so that it didn't break. She noted that her phone vibrated in her pocket and dug it out to see that the message it received was from Kanji.

_From: Kanji Tatsumi_

_To: Naoto Shirogane._

_Nao_

_Jus' filled papers at city hall._

_Kanji_

Naoto smiled to herself; legally she and Kanji were married now, she thought to herself how it felt rather anti-climactic. In that moment she seemed to understand the need for a wedding party, she oddly found herself wanting it more now than she did when she woke up this morning. Yukiko looked over at her and smiled.

"Did something happen Naoto-Kun?" She asked looking at the detective

"Just remembering I am getting married tomorrow." Naoto said looking at her friend

"How could you forget?" Yukiko asked plainly

"I didn't it just hit me how fast it crept up on me." Naoto replied

An unnecessary yet romantic ceremony doesn't happen by magic

After Kanji had filed the papers, he headed to the ceremony hall; there were some preparations he had to oversee. He quickly typed out his message to Naoto informing her that they were now legally married; he thought to himself how it seemed very clerical in the way the Japanese custom for marriage, very different from the movies his mother watched. His thoughts were interrupted when he received a message from Naoto.

_From Naoto Shirogane_

_To Kanji Tatsumi_

_Kanji,_

_Thank you for filing the paperwork. I should call you my husband now? I love you Mr Shirogane._

_Naoto_

Kanji smiled at the message; she was right he was her husband as she was his wife, he was glad of the decision of taking her name. The fact that Yu had taken Yukiko's name made his decision a lot easier, and that he felt like he could do anything for Naoto to make her happy.

He had asked for help setting up the ceremony hall from Yosuke and Yu as he imagined Teddie would be more of a hindrance than helpful; they were getting the area for the banquet ready. Kanji was looking at the table Naoto and Kanji were going to sit at, he had already tied the navy blue ribbons around the chairs. He had set out two little bears, one dressed as a groom and the other as a bride. The fact that they looked like Kanji and Naoto was a happy accident.

"Hey Kanji why are we here setting this up. We should be celebrating you getting hitched to a girl!" Yosuke complained as he put out little name cards following a seating plan.

"It's 'cause I want to make this perfect for Naoto." Kanji replied "I still can't believe that Chie-Senpai had agreed to marry you though."

Yu laughed as he listened to them argue.

"I can't believe you and Naoto are getting married. It seems like yesterday that we all thought Naoto was a guy and had to save her from her shadow." Yu commented. "Rise and I were right though; you and Naoto are a cute couple."

The next day

Naoto was in the side room she was looking at the two mannequins in the room; Kanji had finished both the dress and the suit, at her insistence, she had been insisting that she would wear the dress if only for the ceremony and some pictures. Before yesterday she was only going to do that, but she could see all the love he had put into making it.

She noted that there was a waist band in the same pattern as the ribbon of her favourite hat, and it had its own little bolero top in a navy blue, the main body of the dress itself was in a pale white and had a straight neck line across the top. Most of the clothes she wore now were made by Kanji, she didn't even need to buy clothes, she was glad she didn't have to go clothes shopping with Rise. She was also rather proud to say that her fiancée made her clothes when one of the female officers asked her where she got her clothes.

As she put it on she knew he had gotten the measurements perfect; he didn't need to have her stand in it as he pinned it to make alterations, as he knew what her size is. She reminded herself how serious he looked as he made clothes, whether or not it was a man or a woman. The first time she had asked him to make her some clothes, she had expected him to blush furiously and get a nosebleed, but he had maintained a professional air and took the measurements without thinking about how little she was wearing at the time.

Kanji was nervous; he knew he really had no need to be, as he was already legally married to Naoto. But it was a ceremony in front of both his and Naoto's family and he had to wear a stupid suit, just so he can prove he has a woman who is happy to be called his wife. But as Naoto walked in he saw how beautiful she looked, her eyes met with his and they smiled at each other. He wished time would stop at that moment and just let them stay in that moment.

Before he knew it she was stood by his side, and she held out her hands, for him to take in hers.

"You look beautiful." He said

"It's because you are an amazing tailor." She said looking at him.

Kanji took her hands as he blushed gently. Yu patted him on the shoulder as he began the ceremony; he talked about how they had met and slowly fell in love carefully avoiding talking about the TV world.

"I am happy to call you husband and wife." Yu said as he looked at them with a caring smile.

Kanji squeezed Naoto's hand as he smiled at her again for the third time that day. They shared a gentle kiss when Yu prompted them too, they were already legally married but the little ceremony was a nice touch Naoto thought, she was going to share the rest of her life with Kanji and it made her happy.


	6. Chapter 7 - Our married life

At the request of Naoto's grandfather; Naoto and Kanji had moved into the Shirogane estate, claiming it was going to be their home after he had gone, as Kanji had joined the Shirogane family. They had moved in after they had married and Kanji was dragged into Grandpa Shirogane's study to learn the basics of being a detective, Naoto only saw him when he came up to their room at night to sleep as she had taken on a case of her own.

Naoto was sat at her laptop; she was typing up the report for the case she was on, she hit the keys to save her document as Kanji walked in all stressed. His dark brown hair was standing up like he used to wear it when they were in school.

"I don't know why I hafta' learn this stuff." He moaned before he threw himself on the bed.

She walked over to him and lay next to him; she touched his hand with her own, it made him look at her. Naoto gave him a gentle smile and it made him relax, he pulled her into his arms.

"It's just my Grandpa's way of making you feel welcome to the family." Naoto explained before she gave him a kiss.

"I used to get in trouble with the police, not exactly gonna be welcome as a detective." Kanji pointed out "I thought we agreed, I was gonna stay at home with the kids."

She pinched him on the hips and he let out a little groan.

"I know. How about you keep going with the detective lessons and you can teach me how to make a cake?" She asked "I would like to be the one to bake them for birthdays."

Kanji smiled as he squeezed her hand.

"Ok you got a deal." Kanji said "I hope you are going to listen to every word. You won't be as bad a cook as Chie-senpai."

It was approaching the first anniversary of their marriage and Kanji was planning something special; he was planning to take Naoto to a really nice restaurant in Okina City, she was taking on less cases recently so that meant she was more flexible in her schedule. The day was approaching and the present he had ordered from the internet had thankfully arrived on time, he had bought her a monogrammed navy blue leather journal, it had an interchangeable pad of paper as he thought she could use it to write notes for her cases.

It sat on the table in the wrapping he had put it in on the table of the restaurant he was waiting at for Naoto; he had even dressed up smart, in a suit with a red tie, Kanji had decided he really hated ties. He was used to wearing an apron; the tie felt to constricting, he had to fight his internal voice until his wife had seen him looking smart until he reached for the knot and yanked it free, and unbuttoned the first three buttons of his shirt. He sighed as he adjusted his glasses; his eyesight had gradually started to get bad in his last year of High School, he wasn't surprised as both his parents wore glasses. His friends weren't surprised about seeing his transformation from bleached blonde delinquent to brunette future accountant. The only remnants of his former delinquent status were the scar above his eyebrow, and his tattoo on his shoulder, he had removed the piercings as he got bored of looking at them.

He saw Naoto wave at him as she spotted him across the restaurant; his face lit up in a smile as she looked at him with her best smile, he could also see looks from other men who noticed her, they all simultaneously thinking that she was the most beautiful in the room. Kanji wanted to smack them all; but Naoto had already made it to the table and had pecked him on the cheek, the other men all had a look that said he was damn lucky.

"Sorry Kanji, I didn't keep you waiting too long did I?" she asked in her most feminine voice. It seemed she had noticed the attention the other men in the room too and she didn't like it either, and he realised the kiss was for their benefit as well as for him too. "I had something I had to do before I got here."

"It's okay Naoto." Kanji said as he looked at her.

Naoto smiled as she sat down at the chair on the opposite side of the table; she slid a strand of hair behind her ear as she picked up the drinks menu, her eyes scanning over the many choices, she sighed as she put it down.

"Happy anniversary." She said

Kanji held the box out to her and smiled.

"Happy anniversary to you too, I got you a little something." He said as she took the box, she put it on her lap as she took his hand.

"Thank you Kanji." She said.

Kanji could swear he could see tears forming in her eyes; did he do something wrong, Naoto wasn't overly emotional like this was she. Her hand went to the napkin on the table as she went to blot away a tear, it seemed like she was trying to fight away her emotions. The nearest waiter looked at her and walked straight to her, Kanji panicked, his wife was crying what did he do wrong.

"N-n-n-Naoto what's wrong?" He asked in a small whisper. Kanji reached out and took hold of her free hand.

"Miss is there a problem?" The waiter asked as he looked at Kanji. "Has this man hurt you?"

Kanji swore he saw the waiter stare daggers at him, Naoto shook her head.

"Kanji would never hurt me." Naoto muttered

The waiter looked at Kanji and gave him a look of apologies; Kanji really didn't bother looking at the waiter his attention was on Naoto, he was worried.

"Sorry Kanji these are happy tears, I don't know why my emotions are all over the place." She said "Actually I have one hypothesis."

Naoto smiled sheepily as she looked at her husband; he wiped away a tear on her face, and gave her a gentle smile.

"I'm pregnant." She mumbled before she turned her gaze to the tablecloth.

"You are?" Kanji asked looking at her

She nodded not moving her gaze; Kanji smiled as he took her chin with his thumb, he could see the look on her face a mixture of nervousness and uneasiness.

"It's a great thing." He said

Naoto gave a sigh of relief and a gentle smile formed on her face as she looked at him again, he squeezed her hand before she looked at the present on her lap.

"Can I open this now?" She asked


	7. Chapter 8 - Damn Hormones

"Damn hormones" Naoto thought when she had sat down at her desk in the Inaba police station; Dojima watched her from across the room, she had shouted at a poor rookie as he walked into her causing her to drop an armful of case reports. Naoto never raised her voice in that way, and she had attributed it to hormones down to her research.

"Shirogane-san are you ok?" Dojima asked as he walked over to Naoto's desk

Naoto looked up at him and sighed.

"I'm fine." She replied curtly

The senior detective looked at her and noticed the look she had given him; it was one of 'let's talk about it later', Dojima caught the look and smiled.

"Ah ok." He replied "I'll be in my office if you want to talk."

The morning passed on in much the same way; Naoto getting frustrated and hitting the photocopier because it refused to fax the files she had to send to the prefecture office, and she couldn't email it as the stupid rules said she couldn't. She also had a hasty argument with the vending machine as if refused to give her the bar of chocolate she had paid for.

"Shirogane-san your husband is here to see you." The receptionist said on the other end of the phone, when it was lunchtime, Naoto sighed that his timing was perfect she could use the break and so could the vending machine. Naoto headed down to the reception to meet Kanji.

"Not causing trouble today Kanji-kun?" Dojima asked as he walked out of the station, he was heading out to go to the convenience store.

"I am waiting for Naoto." Kanji replied

"I hope you didn't do anything wrong, your wife assaulted the vending machine earlier." Dojima replied

Kanji looked at him with a little worry.

"It deserved it." Naoto said calmly as she approached the two of them, she looked right at Kanji as if to say 'don't ask' he responded by raising his eyebrows at her and taking her hand in his.

"I'll let you two get on with your lunch date." Dojima said before he waved and left

Once Dojima was out of earshot Kanji looked at her and smiled.

"You assaulted a vending machine?" Kanji asked

"It refused to give me what I paid for." Naoto said "I showed it who was boss."

Kanji squeezed her hand; he was oddly proud of her for doing something like that, she didn't seem to feel remorse for attacking an inanimate object.

"What do you want for lunch?" He asked

Lunch turned out to be at the Junes food court; surprisingly Chie, Yosuke, Yu and Yukiko were all there. Naoto had spotted them all at their table; it wasn't easy to miss them as they were all waving at the two of them, Naoto had led Kanji there as he carried their lunches on his tray.

"Hey Naoto-kun and Kanji-kun." Chie said as she looked at the two of them

Naoto smiled at them as she sat down at the table; she let out a huge sigh when she did, Kanji sat down next to her and smiled at them.

"Naoto-kun what's wrong?" Yukiko asked a gentle smile on her face.

The detective looked directly at her friend and smiled at them.

"Just a little stressed I guess." Naoto explained she didn't want to go into any depth with her friends and tell them the truth just yet; she didn't want to jinx it, it was still early in her pregnancy after all. She felt a hand supportively squeeze her own under the table and looked out of the corner of her eye that it was Kanji who had done that, she was happy he was a supportive husband like that, and he'd be a good father she thought that happily to herself.

"Ok well now that Naoto and Kanji are finally here, I have some news." Yukiko said "Yu and I are having a baby, we found out a month ago."

Chie and Yosuke were excited for them; whereas Kanji and Naoto shared a look between them, a little worried if they should sat something too.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Chie asked enthusiastically.

"Idiot it's too early for them to know that." Yosuke answered her

Chie relaxed her smile a bit and frowned.

"Oh yeah it is." She said a little sadly. "Well anyway we need to celebrate, Yosuke go fetch us something to toast with." Chie commanded her husband, he sighed loudly, before he went to follow her order.

"Congrats you guys." Kanji said as he looked at the two of them; he tightened his grip on Naoto's hand as Yukiko smiled at them. Naoto just looked at Yukiko; she was a little confused about what to say to her senpai, she was happy for them but at the same time wanted to tell them about her child too.

Yosuke returned with a bottle of champagne and a can of orange soda; he handed out plastic glasses and filled everyone's except Yukiko's with the champagne, Naoto looked at hers suspiciously.

"Yosuke-senpai I can't drink this." Naoto explained

Yosuke looked at her suspiciously as he took the glass she had held out to him.

"You are still on duty?" He asked

"Yes I am." Naoto explained, Kanji looked at her and tilted his head as if to say 'go on tell them' she responded with a look of her own saying 'I can't I'm embarrassed.'

Just as Chie was about to call the toast Kanji held his hand up.

"Hey can I say somethin' too?" He asked; earning the questioning gaze of the four of his friends. "We're having a kid too."

Naoto looked away from all of them and looked at the ground; they heard a squeal of excitement from Yukiko and Chie, they all raised their glasses after Kanji had managed to persuade Naoto that she hadn't needed to be embarrassed.

"To Yukiko and Yu and also to Naoto and Kanji." Chie called.

"Dummy that's too long." Yosuke said

"Fine." Chie responded "To the future."

"To the future." The response called


	8. Chapter 9 - It's not just us

"I heard Shirogane-san is going to keep her job after she has her kid." One officer said in the break room.

"I'm surprised her husband let her do that, and Dojima-san was okay with it too." The other replied.

Naoto walked in to the room; she had heard them talking, she knew that stupid people were going to gossip; she gave them a harsh gaze, the officers stopped their smirking.

"I am okay if you want to gossip about me. I am already twice the detective you two will ever be." Naoto said before she filled a glass with cold water, the officers watched her in silence as she left. "Mama works with some real idiots." She mumbled to her growing belly.

Naoto worked on the tasks Dojima had given her; which mostly involved chasing up case reports and taking the calls from the public reporting crimes, she was glad when it was lunchtime. The receptionist had called her line, Naoto answered it quickly.

"Shirogane-san your husband is here." The bored receptionist said

"Oh send him up." Naoto replied

The response was a mumbled yes; Naoto put the phone down and looked back at the file she was working on, she'd finish it before Kanji had made it to the office. Most of the other officers had all left the room to go for their own lunch; Naoto looked up when the door opened. She saw Kanji stood there a guest badge and a lunchbox with him; he walked past the few officers who glared at him, before he put the lunch on Naoto's desk and grabbed a chair.

"One day you will remember your own lunch." He complained

"Kanji you know you enjoy bringing it to me." She replied

She giggled when he gave a little sigh in response; he handed her a pair of chopsticks and opened the box, she looked over the food he had made.

"My husband's homemade lunch looks amazing." Naoto said with a huge smile

"Jus' dig in." Kanji said a little embarrassed.

After their lunch Kanji left and headed back to the Shirogane estate; he had to finish his work on the nursery, he had painted it a light yellow and had to build the furniture. Naoto had insisted he call in a carpenter to do it; but he had said he'd be the one to make the first room their child got to sleep in; it was a matter of manly pride. Or was it his own selfishness, He wasn't sure which it was but he said he was going to do it.

Thankfully the instructions were easy to follow and he was gifted with his hand; well he could make delicate little dolls so this was relatively easy to do, that and Naoto had left a box of the tools he needed. She liked to tinker with little gadgets and he thought that was cute, the watch she had given him was able to speak the time when he pushed a button was an improvement she had made. The crib had been the first thing he had assembled and it stood against the wall of the room, he tested the frame by pushing it, thankfully it stayed put and he decided to put the foam mattress in it. Kanji noted it looked rather plain; making a mental note to knit a cute blanket, as he assembled the rest of the furniture.

He managed to finish the furniture reasonable quickly and headed to the kitchen; he had decided to make something simple for dinner so that he could start on the blanket.

Naoto had left the police station early; Yukiko, Chie and Rise had called her up and asked her to go shopping for baby clothes, it would have been something she would have avoided if she wasn't pregnant herself she usually hate clothes shopping in general. A perk of marrying Kanji was that he made her clothes; she knew he would make them for their child too, she was glad to have him.

"Naoto-kun you are glowing." Rise cheered as Naoto arrived at their meeting place. Rise was the time to get overly excited at any important news she was told, especially when it involved Naoto doing something. Rise practically cried when Naoto told her she was engaged.

"Rise-san I am not glowing." Naoto said, sighing a little as she did.

The actress smiled as she walked to her friend's side and rested her hands on Naoto's small bump.

"Your mama's silly." Rise said addressing the baby. "I am your auntie Rise."

It seemed that becoming pregnant was an excuse for other people to touch you; Naoto did think she liked that, it was an unusual experience. Yukiko and Chie laughed as they saw Naoto was blushing.

"Please let go of me Rise-san." Naoto said

"Shall we go now?" Yukiko asked.

Naoto sighed with relief when Rise looked back at their friends; Naoto mouthed a word of thanks and they all left the meeting spot to go and look at baby clothes.

Naoto had been glad to get home; she was carrying a Junes bag with a present for Kanji, Rise had tried to get her to buy something for the baby but Naoto pointed out that Kanji had already made a little wardrobe for the baby already. She had gotten him a book about children's clothes, and a box of animal crackers, she remembered his unfulfilled wish of finding the penguin and Naoto had a feeling this box was lucky.

"Kanji I'm home!" Naoto called as she entered the front door, usually she heard a response, and she walked into the kitchen and saw that he was asleep at the dining table. A pile of wool skeins and a half made blanket lay around Kanji's sleeping body, his dark hair all messed up as he had ran fingers through his hair, deciding on the colour Naoto had guessed. She walked over to him and put the bag on the only space she could find on the table, and tapped him on the shoulder. Kanji jumped up as Naoto stepped away from him; she had become adept and figuring when he was going to wake up, he looked blearily at her and frantically stood up.

"Sorry Naoto; I'll finish dinner, I guess working all day tired me out." He said

Naoto giggled as she saw his frantic movements; his messy hair made him look like a mad scientist, he stopped when he heard her laughing and smiled at her.

"We can order some takeout for a change." Naoto said giving him a smile. She pointed at the bag on the table "I got you something."

Kanji looked in the bag and smiled at the contents.


	9. Chapter 10 - The late arrival

"We have to come up with a name for our child, our daughter." Naoto said as she looked at Kanji. They had the book of names on the kitchen table, Naoto had been flipping through it, each suggestion one made the other didn't like it.

"How about the name Ryoko? Meaning bright child?" Kanji suggested

Naoto felt a kick from their little girl; she looked at Kanji and smiled.

"I think she likes that name." Naoto said.

"Ryoko Shirogane, it's a good name indeed." Kanji said nodding his head

A second kick made Naoto make and 'Ooh' she seemed to like that name and wanted to let them both know she approved.

"She kicked again." Naoto explained looking at him with a gentle smile.

The landline phone rang in the hallway; Kanji stood up and went to answer it, Naoto didn't attempt to get up from the chair as she was in the last stages of her pregnancy.

"Hello Shirogane residence." Kanji said

"Hey Kanji-kun its Yu here, I am phoning everyone to say our little Kotone has just been born." The voice on the other end said

"Whoa dude congrats." Kanji said

"Hey not long until your child is born." Yu said "Our children have to be friends."

"Of course they will. Send my best to Yukiko-senpai and Kotone-chan." Kanji said.

"Thanks, good luck to you and Naoto-kun." Yu said before he hung up

Naoto looked at him as he returned into the kitchen; she was idly stirring her finger in the fruit bowl, Kanji smiled as he sat down across from her.

"It was Yu-senpai; Kotone-chan has arrived safely. He has a lot more calls to make." Kanji said looking at his wife with a gentle smile

A month and a half later

Naoto was worried her due date had passed a week ago; she had read that it was rare that a child arrived on their due date, but she was anxious she wanted to have her little baby girl already. Kanji was on tender hooks; he was as stressed as Naoto was, he could tell she was becoming uncomfortable, she didn't try to hide it.

"Why isn't she here yet?" Naoto asked Kanji impatiently, as she paced around the living room.

"Naoto I'm sure she'll arrive soon, please calm down." Kanji answered looking stressed back at her.

"It's your fault, you were the one who got me pregnant." She said her impatient tone still in her voice, making it rise a little higher in pitch than usual.

"I know, I know." He said Kanji's brain made the executive decision to let her vent some hormone based anger at him, he silently remained calm trying not to shout back at her, she never got mad at him like this and he thought she was kinda sexy when she was mad. _Damn it now's not the time to get aroused, come on Kanji_.

Thankfully Naoto didn't have to stay in that state of irritation long as her labour was triggered shortly after that sentence was spoken. Kanji ended up panicking; he took a deep breath as he called for an ambulance, he managed to get himself calm after he hung up the phone call. Naoto held her hand out to Kanji to take as she was scared herself. Her tiny hand wrapped in his and she squeezed hard on his fingers, Kanji was a little shocked by the strength she had used.

"Breathe Naoto; you gotta stay calm." Kanji said

Seven hours later; Ryoko Shirogane was born, Kanji never realised how small babies were as he held his little daughter in his arms. Her fingers were tiny and all of them could barely wrap around one of his.

"She's beautiful." Kanji said as he looked over to his wife.

Naoto smiled contentedly as she looked at the bundle in his arms, neither of them had seen the colour of Ryoko's eyes as she kept them closed, as if she wasn't ready to look at the world yet. She wanted to live in a small world at the moment, Naoto knew one thing she was exhausted.

"I know she is we did good." Naoto said before she began to fall asleep. Naoto seemed to do so instantly as Kanji could hear her gentle breathing. There was a knock at the door, Rise was stood there and smiled.

"Can I see her?" Rise asked

"Sure come on." Kanji whispered.

The actress looked down at the little girl in Kanji's arms; Rise smiled and looked at Kanji, then back at Ryoko.

"She looks a lot like Naoto." Rise whispered.

"Yeah she does thankfully, it's a little sad for a girl to look like her dad." Kanji said a small smile on his face.

Rise patted Kanji on the shoulder and gave him a smile.

"You've never been happier since you and Naoto-kun got married have you?" Rise asked her tone still quiet.

Kanji looked between both the Shirogane women and smiled at Rise; he walked to put Ryoko into the cot, and tucked her in with the blanket. He also did the same with Naoto but he gave her a small kiss on the forehead.

"I never thought I'd ever be this happy." Kanji replied

The two of them had left mother and daughter to sleep; both exhausted from the birth, and headed to the coffee machine. Rise paid for their drinks and they sat together on a bench in the hallway.

"To Ryoko Shirogane, the next great detective." Rise said in her normal tone.

"To Ryoko Shirogane, my little princess." Kanji responded.

They clinked together the cans of iced coffee, and laughed together.

"Ryoko-chan is cuter than Kotone-chan right?" Kanji asked the actress

Rise laughed and nodded at her friend

"It's not a competition Kanji-kun." Rise explained

"Yeah cause Ryoko-chan wins hands down." Kanji said "I guess I am a little biased towards my girls. I like that 'my girls' I have something to protect, I am gonna be terrible when Ryoko-chan wants to get a boyfriend."

"I am sorry for the poor boy already." Rise replied as she laughed carefully.


	10. Chapter 11 - First day back at work

"Good luck on your first day back." Kanji said as he handed her the lunch he made for her.

"I'll be ok Kanji." Naoto replied giving him a kiss goodbye.

"If those punks say anythin' I'll pummel their asses." He said sounding like his younger self.

"I can handle them Kanji." Naoto said "I'll see you when I get home."

Naoto smiled to the receptionist as she walked into the Inaba police station.

"Detective Shirogane welcome back, Super intendant Dojima wants to see you in his office." The receptionist said

"I understand, thank you." Naoto said as she headed to her desk.

As she walked in she could feel the looks of the officers focus on her as if they were secretly judging her, most of the other detectives were male and they were in the mind-set that she should be at home looking after Ryoko. She knew that Kanji was there looking after her and he would be much better at it than Naoto could ever be, though she still loved that little girl with all her heart.

"Just because I am working doesn't mean I am not a good parent." She thought to herself.

Naoto then remembered she had to go and see Dojima; so she dumped her things on her desk and headed to his office, she was glad it was Dojima in charge as he was fully impressed by her talent and skill as a detective.

"Good to see you back again Shirogane." Dojima said as he looked up at her.

She thought that he hadn't changed at all since they met; he was a driven detective and a devoted father and now a great uncle to Kotone.

"It's good to be back Dojima-san." Naoto replied

His face relaxed into a small smile.

"Have you got a picture?" He asked

Naoto smiled as she pulled her phone out of her pocket, she searched for the photo she had on her phone. Her wallpaper was that of the investigation team they took before Yu left them, she couldn't bear to change it. When she found one of her little detective she showed it to Dojima.

"She looks like you." Dojima said with a warm smile "I remember when Nanako was that small."

The older man coughed and returned to his detective mode and picked up a folder to give to Naoto. She nodded and put her phone away and took the folder, she opened it and saw an overview of a new case.

"This case needs your expertise." Dojima said

Kanji found himself watching the clock; it was coming up to seven o'clock PM and Naoto had sworn she'd be home by now, Ryoko was fast asleep clutching onto her little plush doll of Sukuna-Hikona she had the Take-Mikazuchi doll stood by her head guarding her as she slept. He sighed as he turned the heat down on the stove, letting the pot cool to a gentle simmer; he was trying to avoid growing anxious. As the clock turned 7:05pm Naoto came in through the door, she walked into the kitchen to see Kanji sat at the table his expression full of worry.

"I'm home." She said to him.

"Thank god you're home." He said before he enveloped her in a bear hug, his nerves disappearing as he held her in his arms "I was so worried."

Naoto couldn't help but giggle a little.

"I am only five minutes late Kanji." She said to him.

He let her go and headed over to the stove quietly, to finish up cooking dinner, a little embarrassed at how worried he was.

"It was your first day back at work and I was kinda anxious as well your colleagues aren't exactly open-minded." He said

Naoto sat down at the table and looked at the small pile of letters; she liked to read the mail after she got home for work, they got a postcard from Kanji's mother every week telling them what she had been up to. She noticed that the bills were never in the pile as Kanji had already taken care of them, claiming it was his responsibility to keep the family budget running smoothly, Naoto knew that it was something his mother had taught him to do. Sometimes she felt like she was the husband in the marriage, they often joked about it, as they were comfortable with the way their marriage worked.

"Tonight we are having a Tatsumi special." Kanji said as he put the food on the table.

"Looks delicious, Kanji." Naoto said

Kanji thumped his hand against his chest; Naoto smiled as she saw his apron, it was the '#1 House husband' apron he was given as a joke from Rise on his birthday. She didn't expect him to like it, or that Naoto would have said "it's a very apt statement Rise-chan" when he showed it to her. Rise looked a little crestfallen that her little joke fell flat.

"So how was work?" He asked looking generally interested.

"It was good, Dojima-san gave me a new case and he wanted to see a picture of Ryoko." Naoto said

Kanji nodded, he'd have to send his gratitude to Dojima for making Naoto feel like she was accepted in the police force.

"Anyone say anything about you?" Kanji asked

"Not that I heard." Naoto said "If they did I don't really care."

She focused on her dinner and Kanji nodded at her.

"They can say all the sh… stuff they want about me; I don't want 'em disrespectin' you." Kanji said

He had to avoid saying the swear word as he promised himself that he wouldn't when Ryoko was born, he wanted to become a respectable adult in his daughters eyes and that meant no swearing and shortening his words.

"I know Kanji, I love you for that." Naoto said


	11. Chapter 12 - de-duck-tea-on

It was the first day of school for Ryoko Shirogane, she was waving goodbye to the man who brought her he was tall and had brown hair. Her father was sad that he wouldn't get to see her, all day, well until she had come home. Ryoko smiled as she saw him wave at her not caring about the other mothers who looked at him suspiciously, she looked more like her mother and had the same unusual hair colour.

The teacher smiled as she looked over the children who were beginning their first ever day of school; she was encouraging them to introduce themselves, and Ryoko was planning what she was going to say to her class.

"Hello I am Ryoko Shirogane, its nice ta' meet cha'." She said slipping out with some of the speech habits she learned from her father despite all the attempts he made to not let her hear him use, Ryoko bowed lightly as her mother taught her.

Ryoko enjoyed school as she got to meet other children her own age; she had already been friends with Takao Hanamura and Kotone Amagi, they were the children of her parent's friends. They were in her class and they all sat together, but they had made friends with a new boy called Shinjiro Minami.

"Who was the big guy you walked to school with Ryoko-chan?" Shinjiro asked

"That was my Papa." She said as she put a hand on her dress "He makes my clothes, Mama and I love Papa very much."

"Whoa that's so cool Ryoko-chan, I thought he was scary." Shinjiro said looking at his lunch box

Ryoko smiled as she looked at him.

"Mama told me that he may look scary to others, but Papa is really kind." Ryoko said

Kanji was a little lonely; he went straight to Junes after he dropped Ryoko of at school, she was his little princess, even Naoto had said that he would treat her as one when she was born. He didn't think about what he was going to do with himself when she went to school, he was the housewife – well househusband – and he was happy to do that. He looked around the grocery section; planning what he was going to make for dinner tonight, he had decided on curry.

"Hey Kanji-kun." Yosuke said as he headed into the grocery section; he was dressed in a suit holding a clipboard, Yosuke had taken over as the Manager of Junes. "Getting stuff for dinner, I thought that you had maids at the Shirogane estate to do that for you."

Kanji scratched the back of his neck with a hand; Naoto's family were rich and they had moved into the Shirogane estate at the request of Naoto's grandpa, following their marriage.

"It's my duty as the husband to make the dinner." He admitted to his senpai "and well Naoto really likes my cooking, as does Ryoko."

If he had admitted that when he first met Yosuke; Kanji would have punched him for making a snide comment about him being 'gay', but the two had grown up into men and the fact he and Naoto had a kid together helped too.

"You are a doting dad Kanji." Yosuke said "Can Naoto-kun actually cook?"

"She doesn't make Mystery food X if that's what you mean. I gotta take care of my girls." Kanji replied as he patted his friend on the shoulder before he went to finish his shopping.

Ryoko was sat waiting outside her school; she was waiting to be picked up, it had felt like an hour since the school bell rang, but it wasn't even five minutes since. She smiled as she saw a blue haired woman running towards her; Shinjiro watched her as she began to walk to the woman, who lifted her up when they reached each other.

"Hello my little detective." Naoto said

"Hello Mama." Ryoko replied as Naoto put her down on the ground and took the girls hand.

"Have fun today?" Naoto asked.

"Yup it was fun." Ryoko said

Naoto laughed as she led her little girl to the car.

"Don't say that to Papa, he missed you today." Naoto said; she was reminded of the lunch she shared with Kanji, he always came to bring her lunch when she was working a case in Inaba he used to bring Ryoko with him.

Kanji stood by the stove and held the ladle he was using to stir the broth he had made; he saw the bubbles rising and bursting as it simmered away, he had made it with beef as it was on special today at Junes. Naoto had reminded him on many occasions that he didn't need to bother with sale items as they were financially very well off, and the family budget could cover the cost of full price meat. He sighed as he put the lid tilted on the top of the pot and turned the heat of the stove off, dinner wasn't for an hour or so. He heard the pitter patter of tiny feet, before he felt two small arms wrap around his thigh's.

"Hi Papa I'm home." Ryoko's cute little voice said it made him smile as did the peck on the cheek from Naoto, who had somehow managed to sneak up on him.

"Hey Kanji I'm home." Naoto said in a whisper into his shoulder.

"Hello Girls." He replied as he put his hand on Ryoko's back and gave Naoto a kiss, he admitted to himself that even though he missed both his wife and daughter, having them run to him to say hello was very cute and he felt happier now. Ryoko giggled before she looked up at her father.

"See Mama, Papa is happy now. Your de-duck-tea-on was right." Ryoko said trying to use the big word she had heard from Naoto on the car ride home.

"It's deduction Ryoko-chan." Naoto said

Kanji raised an eyebrow at her and smiled.

"Well done Ryoko-chan, you are Mama and Papa's Little Detective." Kanji said


End file.
